Pet Owners: A week away from due date, dog acting out

Rabitt313 · August 2012

So Monday afternoon I get home from work and my 5 year old dachshund who has been crate trained since he was a puppy had pooped in his cage. He's done it consistently since then. DH and I have made sure that we've given him plenty of time outside, and watched him poop, before putting him in his crate and going to work or bed. Doesn't seem to matter at this point. So we're both assuming he's stressed by me, I've googled it, spoken to our vet, and no one really has a solution for this problem that we haven't already tried.

Was wondering if anyone else was dealing with this and tried something that worked?

jdmegvaughn · August 2012

I'm also due in 1 week and my 1.5 year old weimaraner is acting out too! He started grabbing stuff and ripping stuff up which he normally doesn't do. He also whines at night for hours and it is causing me to lose sleep!! I hope it means that he senses something that I don't.

TrudyCampbell · August 2012

My dogs did this too... I think they just knew something was about to happen. It lasted until about 2 weeks after DD was born and then they calmed down. Now they're totally adjusted and they love the baby. Good luck! It's a big change for them too.

anonymous · August 2012

We've still got a few months left, but the dog is definitely going through stages.

He used to get up for the morning walk when he heard the alarm go off, now he'll wake us up at 3-4 a.m. He is up all hours of the night. He stopped eating his breakfast. I found a nest of socks behind the couch he's been stockpiling.

But some days he's normal and some days he's super well behaved. I think he just wants extra attention with all of the hubbub around here.

AndBabyWouldMake5 · August 2012

We had to re crate/litter train our little girl cat after my shower... she hated that all these big boxes and bags were coming into her space. We even slowly rearranged the nursery to accommodate the little princess. Once we crated her again and gave her a special new bed in the nursery she was happy.

Our older male cat has been my constant companion this past week... he's only 3 but he has a very old soul. He never slept on our bed and has started doing that and even follows me on my multiple bathroom trips. He totally knows something is up.

Animals are very intune to things like this so I'm not surprised.

signarvi · August 2012

one of our dachshunds has gotten super over-protective and a little aggressive around me all of a sudden. I'm hoping it's a pregnancy thing. Did you vet do a stool parasite check to make sure there's no health issues? I have no idea how to correct the behavior if it's not health related, crossing my fingers that both of our little pups go back to normal after our babies get here.

phq2011 · August 2012

signarvi:
one of our dachshunds has gotten super over-protective and a little aggressive around me all of a sudden. I'm hoping it's a pregnancy thing. Did you vet do a stool parasite check to make sure there's no health issues? I have no idea how to correct the behavior if it's not health related, crossing my fingers that both of our little pups go back to normal after our babies get here.

This. My cocker spaniel had a major potty regression caused by crystals in her urine from a diet change. We changed her food back and no issues since. I would let them do a stool sample if you haven't yet.

beachhippiemama · August 2012

Mine have been increasingly stubborn and clingy to me. It's like they know that a big change is coming and are trying to get all of my attention that they can for now.

misspunky · August 2012

He probably just senses the hormone changes. My dog has gone through a lot of stages since I've gotten pregnant. He's always been clingy with me, but the past couple weeks he's been following me everywhere. If I were to stop in the middle of going down our stairs, his nose would literally end up in my butt. He's that close to me at all times. And if I get up, he watches me until I go out of his line of vision, and then he hops up and follows me. They know something's coming!

Eastie156 · August 2012

I'm not due for another 4-5 weeks and our English bulldog has started peeing on the floor. This is after we've taken her out. She's done it a few times now. We called the vet and he asked if there was blood in her urine,etc which would signal a UTI. She doesn't have any of it and she's randomly peeing on the floor, it's not consistent. She's also started chewing our bed sheets at night too. I think she's acting out because she knows whats about to come. Just my opinion though.

Jessica Swanlake · August 2012

Eastie156:
I'm not due for another 4-5 weeks and our English bulldog has started peeing on the floor. This is after we've taken her out. She's done it a few times now. We called the vet and he asked if there was blood in her urine,etc which would signal a UTI. She doesn't have any of it and she's randomly peeing on the floor, it's not consistent. She's also started chewing our bed sheets at night too. I think she's acting out because she knows whats about to come. Just my opinion though.

Same here- our 4 year old Wheaten Terrier has been peeing in the house, even after she has just been outside. Last week she had non-stop diarrhea, yet the vet found nothing wrong with her. She has been super clingy since I got pregnant and is very protective of both me and the girls around strangers when we go on walks (usually she is massively laid back). I totally think she knows what is going on.

shalyncross · August 2012

My Beagle has started peeing on the floor randomly too. I understand that it must be stressful for her but OH MY, how I wish she would stop!

kyla_bell · August 2012

We were gone for a wedding weekend and my sister was watching the boys at our place. They torn through the screen door... not like them at all. But they do play rough at night after dinner, we call it the late night crazies.

byrne15 · August 2012

Our dog is 7 years old and he just goes through phases in general. He will be fine for a while and then go through a streak where he dumps the kitchen garbage can and spreads stuff everywhere when we leave. Also, he gets in these "bark at everything out the window" moods and it is very annoying.

Usually if he starts this stuff up again we have to exercise him for about a week and it seems to stop (he normally doesn't get walks because he has bad hips). I think it mostly stems from boredom with him.

Rabitt313 · August 2012

It sounds like I'm not alone.

Now the question is, whats the solution???

carcjc · August 2013

We are having the same issues with our German Shepherd. My normally well-behaved boy has taken to eating anything we leave our scent on while we're at work (remote controls, tablet computer, etc.). After having him checked out at the vet (he's perfectly healthy), she recommended that we step up the training when we are with him, refreshing his obedience and giving more commands (such as making him go to one spot when cooking dinner or putting him in a down stay while we eat). She said that he can sense the change in me and probably is picking up on changes in our routine / lifestyle and is confused. Giving him more structure and more commands helps him to know what his place is amidst the change. We just started working with him more and so far we haven't seen an improvement, but hopefully soon - we're running out of remote controls!

Bunnyfer · August 2013

Same here with my pugs. One is very clingy now, and keeps me in his sight all the time. Never was that way before. The other two are just more unruly lately

ahssabino · August 2013

our dog is showing a lot of the same signs as others. Sock hoarding , super clinging, very very protective. we have a male dog and a female dog and the male dog started acting odd at around 5 months female dog just started about a month ago (i am 8.5 months) what we got is that just like we are playing chemical warfare on our partners, DH has a lot of sympathy symptoms, we can pass it on to our pets as well. These are some things we have tried to do to help with the transition and have kept things pretty normal
1. Slowly making changes to the house IE. put up the baby gates so they get used to new road blocks. setting up anything in the bedroom if the pets sleep with you and teaching them that they cant get in it, having baby zones established before LO comes into them
2. letting them check out toys , blankets , diapers, wipes anything that smells in general that will be around all the time getting used to the changes in smells keeps them from going crazy when it comes in the house. Also, things that are similar have generally been met with indifference now since we done that
3.Go back to puppy training. Every time a good behavior is seen it is rewarded every time a bad behavior is seen there is a consequence and the behavior is pointed out. It takes time and making sure you have a supply of rewards but worth the effort. Come home to ripped up take out all over your new sofa? someones noise is going in it , being told they are a bad dog and put in time out.
Remember your the Alpha and leader of your pack even though a new puppy is on the way you need respect

MamaInMN · August 2013

Rabitt313 said:

It sounds like I'm not alone.

Now the question is, whats the solution???

I'm no expert, but have fostered a really difficult dog (75 pound pitbull with major separation anxiety and leash aggression) in the past that led me to do TONS of research on dog training. Plus I have my wonderful 3 year old pittie who is a CGC.

Here's what I would do if I was in your shoes:

1. Go to the vet. Just to rule out any health issues.

2. Switch to hamburger/rice for meals for a few days - if it IS just an upset tummy, this should put an end to it. You can make a big batch of it and just feed at mealtimes.

3. Increase exercise for a while. If he is stressed by all the changes, walks will help him relax and give him confidence. A tired pooch is a more well behaved one. I know this is hard to do right now, but hopefully either you or your DH can squeeze in more time!

4. Go back to step 1 with crate training. Again, if he is stressed, he may just need some extra motivation and rewards to remind him that things are OK. Does he get any activity in the crate? We give our a Kong with frozen peanut butter - she only gets it in the crate and she loves it. If he already gets a treat, maybe up the ante (stuff the Kong with real chicken or something really yummy).

5. I really recommend getting a treat pouch and just wearing it around the house for the next few weeks. Make everything a "training game". If you are folding new baby clothes in the nursery - put pup in a sit-stay next to you and give him treats every few minutes. That way, he's included and has a job to do. He will associate all the changes as positive and gain confidence (which lowers the chances of him acting out).

Good luck! I realize this sounds like a lot, but this is all stuff that has worked for me and many people. I hope some or all is helpful!

BabeDebolt · August 2013

My puppy is guilty too! She just growled at me for 90mins after I tried potty, food, playtime, and exercise. No dice. She also ate my sandal this morning. I am 38w 4d. She's gotta know something. I am going to wear her down with more exercise since my husband got home he can run her more than I can. I also like the suggestion to train with treats more and get her accustomed to baby's toys. I feel that anything to distract or stimulate her is helpful so she's not staring me down and growling. I don't want to lose my patience.

Hollywogg · August 2013

How big is the crate? It should be big enough for the dog to stand without having to bow head and to turn around comfortably and lay down. Any bigger than that and it is too big to create the psychological space of a bed or cave for the dog. Most dogs will not poop where they sleep unless there is a major physical or mental issue. Unless the crate is too big which gives enough space to have a poop area and a sleeping area.

Pet Owners: A week away from due date, dog acting out

Re: Pet Owners: A week away from due date, dog acting out

Choose Another Board

Search Boards